Sumner County leaders approved the creation of a new General Sessions Court judgeship Monday, the Tennessean reports. General Sessions Judge Jim Hunter said the current caseload is “too much of a load on the system” leaving the county with few options. The General Assembly will take up the private act request when it reconvenes Jan. 14. If the state gives its OK, the commission must approve it again with a two-thirds vote by September, and appoint a judge between Sept. 1, 2014 and Sept. 1, 2015.

The Rhea County Commission voted Tuesday to establish an alcohol and drug treatment program as an alternative to prison for people convicted of certain drug offenses. Funding for the program will come from D.U.I fines collected in the Rhea County Circuit and Sessions Courts and federal grants. The Chattanoogan has more.

The University of Tennessee College of Law is hosting an open house for prospective students on Jan. 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and interact with current law students, attend a simulated first-year class, ask questions of admissions, financial aid and career advisors and take a tour of UT Law's state-of-the-art facility. For more information, email lawadmit@utk.edu or call admissions at (865) 974-4131.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of John E. Clemmons based upon his plea of guilty to serious crimes of theft in an amount over $60,000, aggravated perjury and TennCare fraud. Download the BPR notice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has granted review of five end-of-year cases. The four civil cases involve a child custody issue, a real estate contract dispute, independent contractor premises liability question, and a forfeiture of real property in a child pornography matter. The criminal case is regarding the waiver of a jury instruction on lesser included offenses. The Raybin Perky Hot List has a summary and forecast of each case.

Supreme Court Justice William C. Koch Jr. announced today he will retire in July to become dean of the Nashville School of Law. His announcement came at the same time as Dean Joe C. Loser Jr.'s announcement in a letter to students that he will retire in 2014. Justice Koch, who has taught courses at the law school, will have served on the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court for 30 years at the time of his retirement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Tennessee as a judge,” Koch said. “I am also looking forward to the new opportunities and challenges that await me after I am installed as dean of the Nashville School of Law.” The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

Court of Appeals Judge Holly Kirby of Memphis has been appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court by Gov. Bill Haslam. Kirby will succeed Janice M. Holder, who earlier announced she would retire at the end of her term in 2014. Kirby, a native Memphian, has served on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Section, since 1995. She was the first woman to serve on that court and has authored more than 1,000 opinions on appeals from trial courts across the state, The Memphis Business Journal reports. Prior to that appointment by former Gov. Don Sundquist, Kirby was a partner at the Memphis law firm Burch, Porter & Johnson.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon says that the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of millions of Americans' telephone records is likely unconstitutional, the Associated Press reports on WATE. Leon has put his decision to grant an injunction against the NSA on hold, however, predicting a government appeal would take at least six months. He said he was staying the ruling pending appeal "in light of the significant national security interests at stake in this case and the novelty of the constitutional issues."

Chris Clem says he is stepping down as the Hamilton County Election Commission’s attorney at the end of the month. He has served six years, the Chattanoogan reports. Clem told the panel he is leaving because he wants to get back involved in politics, however, one commission member suggested Clem had been forced out of the position.

Nashville-based Gibson Brands Inc. has filed a multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit against technology company Ceton Corp., claiming a breach of contract over a wireless home-entertainment system that Gibson was paying Ceton to develop. In the suit, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Gibson alleges it contracted with Kirkland, Wash.-based Ceton to design and produce a system that Gibson conceived and intended to launch at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month. Gibson claims that Ceton has stopped working for the Nashville company and plans to produce and market the system on its own, the Tennessean reports.